Travelling with, or sending, cash

Overview

Carrying cash - If you enter or leave the European Union (EU) at an Irish airport or port carrying cash of €10,000 or more, you must make a declaration to Customs.

Sending cash - If you send or receive cash of €10,000 or more by post, freight or courier, you may have to make a cash disclosure declaration.

Customs may check these declarations and the cash to ensure that the amount declared is correct. You may request a stamped copy of the completed declaration from Customs.

Note

From 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer a member of the European Union (EU). The rules about cash declarations apply to movements of cash of €10,000 or more to, or from, the UK, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. These rules do not apply to movements of cash to, or from, Northern Ireland.

Cash includes:

• banknotes and coins (including currency now out of general circulation, but that can still be exchanged in a financial institution or central bank)
• cheques, travellers' cheques, promissory notes or money orders without a named beneficiary
• gold coins, with gold content of at least 90%
• and
• gold bars, gold nuggets or clumps with a gold content of at least 99.5%. (Gold is included for the first time from 1 June 2021.)

These provisions also apply to a cash equivalent of €10,000 or more in other currencies.

You must make this declaration in order to comply with European and national legislation, and to deter illegal activities such as money laundering.

A Customs officer may search for, seize and retain, cash being brought into, or out of, the State if:

• the amount is €1,000 or more
• and
• the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the cash directly, or indirectly, represents the proceeds of crime or is intended for use in criminal conduct.

Next: How to make a declaration in respect of cash worth €10,000 or more